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Follow beer writer, Troy Burtch, as he explores the wonderful world of craft beer and the pubs that serve it. Great Canadian Beer is a place to come to catch up on beer news, read tasting notes, check out event listings, and for pub previews and reviews.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Dementia Double IPA: Pump House Brewery

**Hop Bomb Alert**

Someone forgot to Greg Nash and the rest of the brewers at Pump House Brewery that there is a hop shortage in the brewing industry right now, or they simply seemed to ignore it. And thank god they did.

Over 100 IBU's (international bitterness units) are packed into this 341ml bottle of Dementia Double IPA, a product worthy of some attention in Canadian beer circles.

Tipping the bottle over the side of the pint glass gets the orangey/copper (just light than our famous pennies) coloured beer flowing and delivers some huge piney/resiny aroma's reminiscent of a Christmas tree. Some grapefruity, citrusy notes join in on the fun and compliment each other nicely. The hops kick you in the head and then slap you in the face once the daze wears off. The smell of the high alcohol (8.2%) wafts straight up from the glass and there are also some hints of vanilla and honey on the nose with a subtle touch of toasted malt.

The pour also produces a big fluffy cap that protects the beer from oxygen penetrating and each sip (yes, this one is a sipper) leaves behind white lacing. Each mouthful leaves my gums tingling and shocks my tongue. So much for the lager I thought about drinking later in the night.

The sharp notes of the insane amount of west coast hops used in this beer are clearly evident (Cascade, Amarillo, Tomahawk, Northern Brewer and Columbus hops). Very bitter, but also nicely balanced with some honeyish malt lingering in the background. An excellent beer with a nice warming finish that would go great with a curried shrimp dish or some dark chocolate.

The East Coast of Canada is quickly becoming a hot spot for quality produced IPA's as Pump House, Picaroon's (North Hampton Brewing), Propeller, Garrison and Rogue's Roost have all gone big on the hops. Hopefully the trend is making its way into the Ontario industry!

I like the name of the beer too, and a great label. Sadly we here in Ontario won't ever see it in the LCBO, as we all know the history of the LCBO's naming policy (Delirium Tremens).